Antique Gilt-Brass Rococo Cartouche Ornament with Rose & Scrolls

Antique gilt-brass Rococo cartouche of horizontal form, with a central oval cushion boss in a gadrooned frame, a full-blown rose and bud with leaves to one side and C-scrolls with a shell to the other, a vine leaf above and an oak leaf with acorn below. Almost certainly a furniture or frame mount. The reverse is hollow with fixing points.

The naturalism here is a cut above the usual scroll-and-acanthus vocabulary. Rose, vine and oak in one small composition is the kind of detail that rewards close looking, and it is why fragments like this get framed as objects rather than reattached to furniture.

CONDITION: good decorative condition. Rich gilding with scattered darkening and verdigris in the recesses, minor wear to the high points.

Hand-selected in France by Libby.